Outreach, Symptom and Palliative Care Service

This service provides symptom management support and advice to children and young people who have a cancer diagnosis and have been referred to the Oak Centre for Children and Young People, as well as their families.

The team consists of Children and Young People's Oncology Outreach and Symptom Care Nurse Specialists (CYPOONS) and a Consultant in Paediatric Palliative Medicine.

As a team we work within The Royal Marsden multi-disciplinary team (MDT) in partnership with the children and young people, their families and local services close to where the family reside (health, education, social and rehabilitation). Alongside the on-treatment medical team and named nurse key worker, we provide the service from diagnosis and throughout the pathway of care whilst receiving cancer-directed therapy and into follow-up and/or palliative care and bereavement.

Outreach symptom nursing support

Our patients are referred from across the South Thames (South East and South West London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire borders). The CYPOONS outreach extends throughout the region alongside healthcare colleagues close to where the family reside, liaising and providing a home visiting service.

Complex symptom management

The Consultant in Paediatric Palliative Medicine provides symptom support and advice to all children and young people who develop complex symptoms as a result of their cancer diagnosis or treatment, e.g. persisting pain. This could be at any stage throughout the pathway of care and in a number of care settings: home, hospice or hospital where a pain clinic is due to start September 2017 with a MDT approach to care.

The Consultant and CYPOONS work in partnership with The Royal Marsden drug development medical and nursing team to support the children and young people referred from outside the South Thames for early phase clinical trials.

Patch specialist telephone advice service

The Paediatric Patient Advice by Telephone for Care at Home, Hospice and Hospital (PATCH) service is a commissioned NHS England out-of-hours specialist telephone advice service for children and young people and their families, and for healthcare and allied professionals.

This service is hosted by The Royal Marsden and jointly provided by Shooting Star Chase children's hospice Symptom Care team to additionally provide for those children with a non-cancer diagnosis.

The service aims to be responsive with clear and open communication between the PATCH team and the families and professionals who telephone the service.

Referral to patch service (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm)

Caroline Menez Trust CYP Palliative Care Research

The Caroline Menez Trust has funded a paediatric palliative care research team consisting of a nursing sister and research assistant for three years.

The research focus is primarily related to pain and other symptoms. The Caroline Menez Trust welcome financial donations in support of this underfunded, but important, area of paediatric research. Please contact patch.team@nhs.net for any further information or telephone the CYPOONS office on 020 8661 3625.